Carton-closing mechanism



Sept. 6 1927.

W. S. WEBER CARTON CLOSING MECHANISM Filed May i5. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet lW'izer 5. Weben Sept. 6 1927.

w. s. WEBER CARTON CLOS ING MEGHANI SM Filed May 15. 1926 3 sheets-sheet2 bw. 5W h, www. .WMI

61H01 new Sept. 6 1927;

W. S. WEBER CARTON CLOSING MECHANISM Filed May l5. 1926 5 Sheets-SheetWait# 5. Weben I i Patented -Sept.. 6, 169,27.

- UNITED STATES' P TENT; OFFICE.

WALTER SWEBEB, OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORl TO- WH. ,LUDEN, INC.,OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CARTON-CLOSING MECHANISM.

'Application mea nay' 15,

This invention relates to improvements in box or carton machinery, andmore particularly to novel mechanism for closingpasteboard cartons afterthey have been filled with any desired substance. The device isespecially useful for closing the small pasteboard cartons used forcough drops and the iure.

It is customary in many factories at the present time, to use machineryfor filling wax-paper lined cartons with the material to be sold, and tosubsequently fold the upper end of the wax-paper lining and close theiiaps at the top of the carton, by hand. This 16 latter operation is notonly slow andrequires manual labor, but it is not as sanitary as mightbe desired.

The primary object of the present inven-Y tion is to providemechanismarranged' to receive the open filled cartons from the filling machine,and to sequentially Ifold in the upper portion of the wax-paper lining;then fold one of the upper end side flaps and the wax-paper; then foldin the upper end of other side iap and the wax-paper;

then fold the upper end back flap and the wax-paper; and finally insertthe tongue of Vthe back flap into the box and bend the back flap in suchmanner that said flap will remain in closed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide mechanism for performingthese opera- 4tions on a series of cartons one after the other; themechanism being so designed that ing machine', (the latter machine isnot il-` lustratedas itlperforms no part in thepresent invention). D

Fig.v 2 is an enlargedsimilar vlew of a certain parts will be operating'on one carton lVith the foregoing objects outlined, andv 192e. serialno. 109,208.

portion of the closing machine, showing certainparts in'another positionto illustrate themanner of closing.y

3 is a side view of the machine.

Figs. 4, 5 'and 6 are transverse vertical sectlonal views all taken online 4--4 of Fig. 3, each'showing the back flap closing mechanlsm in acertain position, to illustrate the manner of closing the back iap.

. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Flg. 1, but showmgvthe partsl in adiferent'position.

1 8 isa view of the carton before closing t e same.f

Fig. 9 is a similar view of the carton after the end flaps have beenfolded.

Fig. 10 1s a similar view of the carton after it has been closed.

Fig. 11 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on line 11-11 ofFig.- 1.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken on line 12-12 gf Fig. 2.

In the drawing, 1 designates the discharge runway of a filling machinethrough which the -open cartons 2 are fed one after the other inabutting relation. The end carton comes to rest temporarily against thevertical wall 3 of the.transverse pusher 4 of the closing mechanism. Thecartons rest on an endless belt 5, which passes over a station-v aryplate 6, arranged at the receiving end of the closing machine frame. Thebelt has one of its ends arranged on" a pulley 7, mounted on a shaft 8,which carries a worm wheel 9, driven by a worm wheel 10, fixed on'themainY driving shaft 11. The shaft 8 is transversely arranged and `issupported by depending brackets 12 and 13, carried by the frame of themachine.

The transverse pusher 4, preferably consists of an angular plate whichincludes the upwardly extending 'vertical walls 3 andl 14, and thehorizontal part 15. This angular plate is xedly mounted on a horizontalstepped plate 16, a portion of which slides beneath the' stationar plate6, when the pusher is reciprocate laterally. The step plate has atransversely arranged slot 17 to receive a supporting pin 18 (,see Fig.11)

depending from the frame of the machine. A bearing washer 19 engages thepin, vand is arranged on the lower side of the stepped plate 16 tosupport the latter. .The step plate has 'a bracket 20 projecting beyondone side of the frame and having an upclosin l wardly extending arm 21provided with a horizontal slot 22, which receives the shaft 11. Due tothis construction, the pusher 4 1s adapted to reciprocate transverselyand .the following means are provided for causing this reclprocation.The arm 2l carrles a roller 23 which rides on a cam 24, fixed at one endof the driving shaft 11. This cam will move the pusher in one direction,and aspring 25 will pull the pusher in the opposite direction, thespring has one of its ends connected to thev arm 21, at the point 26,and the other end of the spring may be secured to any fixed part, asindicated at 27.

With this construction, it may be seen from Fig. 1 that the belt 5 whichcontinuously moves, forces the cartons 2, toward the machine, and whenthe pusher 4 1sv move in one Adirection a sufficient distance, the wall3 will be moved out of the path of the end carton of the series, so thatthe belt Will move the line of cartons and cause the end carton to abutagainst the end wall 28 of one of the vertical side walls 29 of theframe of the machine. Then, when the pusher 4 moves in the oppositedirection, it will push the last mentioned carton to one side, andagainst the opposite vertical wall 3() of the frame. At thistime it maybe stated that the vertical walls 29 and 30, and horizontal plate 31 ofthe frame form a channel or guide-way for the cartons as bestillustrated in Figa` 4, 5 and 6. The carton which has been moved intothe channel or guide-way of the closing machine is now ready to beclosed by the mechanism which will now be described.

Arranged at one side of the frame is a longitudinally sliding plate 32,having lengthwise slots 33 and 34 to receive the bearing pins 35,projecting from the side 30 of the frame. This sliding plate is pulledin one direction by a spring 36 having one of its ends connected to theplate at 37, and its other end connected to a pin 38, which is fixed tothe side 30 of the frame. The sliding plate is moved in the oppositedirection by a cam 39, which is fixedly mounted on the main drivingshaft 11, and engages a roller 40, rotatable on a p in 41', which isfixed to the sliding plate 32.

The plate 32, is provided at one end with a longitudinal pusher 42,adapted to feed the cartons along the guide-way of the machine. Thepusher includes parallel horizontal plates 43 which when the pusher isreciprocated slide in slots 44, located in the side plate 30 of theframe. Posts 45 extend upwardly from the pusher and function as bearingsfor a reciprocating folder plate 46, which is adapted to fold down oneend flap of the carton with the wax-paper lining at that end. Thisplate' 'has slots 47 for the pins 45, and an arm 48 projects horizon-'tally from thisplate. This arm engages a fork 49, arranged at the upperend of a lever 50, said lever being pivotally mounted at 51 on thepusher 42. A spring 52 has one of its ends connected to the lever, andits other end connected to the pusher for normally holding the plate 46in the position shown"in Figs. 1 and 3. Referring to these figures, itwill be understood that when the pusher 42 commences to move toward theleft, it will carr the lever along with it, and at this time, a smallroller 53, arranged on an arm 54 at the lower end of the lever, willengage a stationary cam 55, fixed by screws 56 on the wall 30 of theframe, so that the lever will be turned in a counter-clockwise directionto move' the folder 46 relatively to the pusher, for forcing down theright end flap of the cartonA beingoperated upon. However, before thisfolding takes place,.the main folder blade 57 has operated to fold inthe upper end of the wax-paper lining, in the manner indicated in Fig.2. This main folding blade is carried by a bell-crank lever 58,pivotally mounted at 59 on a vertical pin carried by the sliding plate32. The arm 60 of the bell-crank is pivotally connected at 61 to a rod62. This rod passes through a friction clamp 63, carried by a bracket 64which is fixed on the side wall 30 of the frame. The friction clamppermits the rod 62 to yield, `if undue resistance is olferedto the blade56, and due to this construction, the blade will be protected and beprevented from breaklng.

It will therefore be seen that when the sliding plate 32 and pusher 42,are movingy toward the left, the blade 57 will be moved into theposition shown in Fig."2 so as to bend in the upper end of 'the paperlining of the carton, and immediately after this, the sliding plate 46will be shifted toward lthe left, slightly in advance of the pusher 42,so as te bend the end flap 65 of the carton downwardly, and with it, thewax-paper lining at this point.

As the pusher continues. to move toward the left, it will push thecarton in the same direction, until the other end flap v66 of the cartonabuts against the stationary horizontal folding blade 67. When the flap66 impinges against the blade 67, the latter will fold the flapdownwardly, and with it the wax-paper lining at this point. The blade 67is fixed to the inner folding member 68, which is adapted to fold theback ,flap 69 of the carton. This member 68 is triangular in verticaltransverse cross section, and it is supported by a bracket 70, which isfixed by screws or the like 71, on the upper edge of the side wall 30 ofthe frame. As the carton moves along the guide-way of the frame, one.side edge of its back fiap will engage the inclined'edge '72.of theouter back ap folding. member neewea 7 3. vThis member consists of apiece of sheet metal'includin a horizontal portion 74, an upwardlyinclined portion 75, and a downwardly extending inclined portion 76; theportions 75 and 76 forminor an inverted ll-shaped section at the rearhalf of the member 73, the edge of which is rounded or beaded to preventcutting the passing carton. The extremities 77 and 78 of the portions 75and 76 are specially bent to insure bendiyng the back flap into theposition shown in From the foregoing, it will be understood thatas thecartons. are moved along the guide-way, the mechanism is timed to iirst,fold the wax-paper lining in, by the blade 57, thenfold the flap down,and with it the wax-paper adjacent the same, then fold the flap 66 downwith the wax-paper beneath the same, and at this time, the spring 36 isbeginning to pull the pusher back to ward the right, so. that the blade57 is moved outward into position to start the following operation.

After the flaps have been folded, and the carton is in the conditionshown in Fig. d, 'l

it is pushed by the following cartons into position beneath the back aptongue, inserting and creasing device. This is best illustrated in Figs.4, 5 and 6. .lt consists of .a bracket 79, fixed to the side wall 30 ofthe frame, and carrying rods 80 on which a carriage 81 reciprocates.This carriage has a projecting arm 82, engaged by a fork 83 on one endof the bell-crank lever 84. This bell-crank lever rocks on a shaft 85,carried by a bracket 86 supported on the side wall 30 of the frame. Thedepending arm 86 of this bell-crank lever carries a roller 87, which isactuated by a cam 88 arranged on `a disc 89, which is ixed on a maindrivey shaft 11. The cam moves the lever in one direction, anda spring90 moves it in the opposite direction. This spring has one of its endsconnected to the lever, and its other end connected to a pin 91 fixed onlthe side wall 30 of the frame. As best shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, asecond carriage 92 is also slidably mounted on the post 80. The carriage81 has projecting pins 93, to .which an opening blade 94: is connected.;This blade is adapted to move downwardly into the carton between thefront Wall 95 of, the latter and the paper lining, as indicated in Fig.5, and then the carriage 92 descends to cause the plunger 96 to pressthe tonguer 97 on the back flap into the carton. This plunger has teeth98 at one. of its edges which are adapted to press into the back flapnear the rear fold line of the same for indenting said flap to preventthe latter from springing out of position after it has been closed.After the plunger 96 has descended i its full distance, the blade 94 iswithdrawn from the carton and subsequently the plunger 96 is raised, andthen the carton is 101 to a bell-cranklever 102, the latter beingrockable on the pin 85, and having a\ de-` pending arm 103 carrying aroller 104. This roller'engages a cam 105,` mounted on the disc 89. Thiscam causes the bell-crank lever 102 to move in one direction, and aspring 106 is provided to move it in the opposite direction. This-springconnects lthe arm 103 of the lever to the fixed pin 91.-

It will be understood from the above, that the cartons areintermittently fed into the runway of the frame, and that during thisintermittent movement there will be rest periods. It is during a. restperiod that the back lla 69 is closed.

The rive shaft 11 ofthe machine is supported in bearings 107, and itisdriven by a sprocket chain (not shown), which engages the sprocket wheel108, fixed on` the shaft.

From the above, it is believed that the construction, operation and'advantages of the invention may be readily understood by those skilledin the art, and it is apparent that changes may be made in the detailsdisclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, asexpressed in the claims.

ll/'hat is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

v1. A machine for closing the flaps of a carton, comprising a guideway,a member carton comprising means for folding one end flap of the carton,other means for closing the other end flap of the carton, means forfolding and creasing the back ilap of the carton, and means forinserting the tongue ofthe back flap into the carton, and for in.denting the back flap near its fold line for preventing the tongue ofthe back Hap from subsequently springing out of the carton.

3. A-machine for closing an end of a lined carton, comprising `aguideway, means for moving a carton along said guideway, means mountedon and movable with the lastmentioned means for folding in one side ofthe lining of the carton, whilev the latter is in said guideway, meansfor folding the end fla s of the carton and the portions of the linmgadjacent thereto, and means on the guideway .for creasing and foldingthe back Hap and for inserting the tongue of the back flap into thecarton while folding the other side of the lining.

4. A machine for closing an end of a lined carton, comprising means forsequentially folding in one side of the 1ining,'fold ing the end flapsof the 'carton and the portions of the lining adjacent thereto, creasingAand folding' the. back flap, and inserting the tongueof the back flapinto the carton while folding the other side of the lining, the meansfor inserting the tongue'including a device for indenting the back flapnear its fold line to 'prevent the `tongue from springing out of thecarton. y

5. In a machine for closing a lined carton, a guideway, means formovinga carton along the guideway, means mounted on the last mentioned meansand coacting therewith to fold one side of the lining and one of the endflaps of the carton while the latter is in the guideway, means on theguide way for folding the other end flap and the back flap of the cartonwhile the latter is moving along the guideway,and means cooperating withthe guideway to insert the tongue of the back Hap into the carton.

6. In a machine for closing a lined carton, a guide-way, means formoving the carton along the guide-way, means coacting therewith tosequentially fold one side of the lining, the end flaps and the backflap of the carton while the latter is 'moving along the guide-way, andmeans cooperating with the guide-way to insertthe tongue of the backflap into the carton, said last mentioned means including a device for,indent-s ing the back flap to prevent the tongue from subsequentlyspringing out of the carton.

In a machine for closing cartons, a first guideway, means for feedingcartons along said guideway, a second guideway arranged parallel to butout of'alignment with the first guideway, a pusher movableperpendicularly to said guideways for pushing thel cartons from thefirst guideway to the second, a longitudinally movable pusher for movingthe cartons along the second guide-a way, and means cooperating with thesecond guideway for folding the flaps of the carton and inserting thetongue of 4the back flap of the carton into the latter, a part of Ithelast mentioned means being movably moun-ted on saidlongitudinal pusher.

8., In a machine for closing cartons, airst runway, means for feedingcartons'along said runway, a second runway arranged out of alignmentwith the first runway, a transverse pusher for pushing the carton fromthe rst runway to the second,` a longitudinal pusher for moving thecartons along the second runway, and means cooperating with the secondrunway for foldingv the iaps of the carton and inserting the tongue ofthe back flap of the carton intoV the latnaamw ter, said last mentionedmeans including1 a toothed member for indenting the back flap of thecarton adjacent its fold line to'pre-v vent the tongue from subsequentlyspring-y runway, v'a longitudinal pusher for moving the cartons alongythe second runway, and a transversereciprocating pusher for moving thecartons from one runway to the other,

dmeans for slidably mounting the transverse pusher, a drive shaft, anarm connected t0 the transverse pusher and having a s lot through whichthe drive shaft passes, and a cam on the drive shaft for moving the armand transverse pusher in one direction;

l0. In a carton closing machine, a guideway for the cartons, areciprocating pusher for moving the cartons along the guide-way, afolder movably mounted on the pusher, and means for moving the folderrelatively to the pusher as the latter reciprocates, for causing thefolder to fold the flap of the carton. i

1l, In a carton closing machine, a runway forvthe cartons, areciprocating pusher for moving the cartons along the runway, a slidingplate folder movably mounted on the pusher,a rocking lever mounted onthe pusher and engaging the folder, and means engaging the lever whenthe pusher moves ,in one direction, for causing the folder to moverelatively to the pusher for folding down a flap of they carton.

12. In a carton closing machine, a runway for the cartons, areciprocating pusher for'moving the cartons along the runway, y

a reciprocating blade for folding in the ,lining of the cartons as thelatter moves along the runway, a bell-crank lever connected toy saidblade, a pivot for the lever, movable with the pusher, a rod connectedto the bell-crank lever, and means for hold- .ing the rod to insurerocking of the lever when the pusherl reciprocates.

13. In a carton closing machine, a runway for the cartons, areciprocating pusher for moving the cartons along the runway, a plateslidably mounted adjacent to the runway and carrying said pusher, aroller mounted on said plate, a drive shaft, a cam fixed to the driveshaft and engaging the roller for moving the pusher and plate in onedirection, means for moving the plate and pusher in the oppositedirection, and folding elements movably mounted on the plate and pusher,and arranged to actuate when the pusher and plate reciprocate forfolding portions at one end of the carton.

14:. In a carton closing machine, a runway for the cartons, aplunger forforcing the back flap of the carton toward the latter, and meansassociated with the plunger for indenang said back aap adjacent to itsfold .to enter the carton near the front wall of the latter to provide aspace in the carton to receive the tongue of the carton flap, areciprocating plunger cooperating with the blade and adapted to forcethe Hap of the carton toward thelatter and to move the tongue of the Hapinto the carton alongside of the blade, and means controlling-the bladeand plunger for causing` the blade to move into the carton before theplunger engages the Hap, and to cause the blade to move out of g ghecarton before the plunger disengages the 16. In a machine for closingwax-paper lined paste-board cartons having end and backiiaps, a runwayhaving an entrance end, means for feeding cartons one after the otherinto the entrance end of the runway, a sliding plate movably mountedadjacent to said run- Way, a pusher movable with said plate and adaptedto move the cartons along said runway, means associated with the platefor folding 'in one side of the carton, a' folder movable with, andmovable relatively to the pusher for folding in one end flap and a partof the lining, as the carton moves along the runway` under the influenceof the pusher, means for foldingA the other end iap and another portionof the lining at a further point along the runway, creasing and foldingmeans for 'the back flap of the carton associated with the runway, andmeans associated with the runway for inserting the tongue of the backHap of the carton into the latter and for indenting the backiiap adjacent its fold line.

In testimony whereof I ai`x my signature.

WALTER S.,WEBER.

